Aviation industry converge on Abu Dhabi – Charles D’Alberto

Abu Dhabi is hosting its first ever Abu Dhabi Aviation and Aerospace week

Dubai: Aviation industry leaders from around the world are in Abu Dhabi this week as the emirate stages its first ever aviation-themed week.

The pinnacle event of the Abu Dhabi Aviation and Aerospace week is the two day Global Aerospace Summit starting on Monday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec).

The summit will see addresses by local and international executives including Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, the group chief executive and managing director of Abu Dhabi investment vehicle Mubadala Development Company, and James Hogan, the president and chief executive of Abu Dhabi-owned Etihad Airways.

Partnerships and sustainability are likely to be key focuses of the summit as falling oil prices, a major revenue source for Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates, increase the need for budget tightening across the national economy.

“When you look at the UAE in particular, their national agenda really help align government and industry,” Jeffery L. Johnson, Vice President, Business Development, Boeing Military Aircraft said in a press release on Wednesday.

“We have a great industry strategy with the government. Partnership globally is key. You see it in the US where OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) team together to offer better products and services to the US government and I think you will see that trend in the UAE, India and globally,” he said.

Abu Dhabi has successfully leveraged its position as a major aviation and aerospace procurer to form ties with a number of foreign firms, including manufacturing aircraft parts for Airbus and Boeing.

Strata Manufacturing, the Mubadala subsidiary that makes composite aircraft parts, is broadening its contract with Airbus and Boeing under. Hommaid Al Shemmari, Chief Executive Officer for Aerospace & Engineering Services at Mubadala, told Gulf News in November 2015 the details of the work packages agreement could be announced during the aviation and aerospace week.

Boeing International president Bertrand-Marc Allen, Lockheed Martin chairman, president and chief executive Marillyn Hewson, Finmeccanica chief executive and general manager Mauro Moretti and UAE Space Agency director general Mohammad Al Anbabi are also scheduled to speak at the Global Aerospace Summit.

Military spending is likely to be another focus this week with Gulf nations directly or indirectly involved in conflicts in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. Gulf states Saudi Arabia and UAE are some of the world’s biggest military spenders.

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the first Arab to go into space, will also be at the summit.

The aviation week also includes the Abu Dhabi Air Expo, a business jet air show at Al Bateen Airport, an aviation career conference and a drones conference and exhibition.